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The bank's chief economic expert Gints Belevics said that it is likely the fastest growth in atvia will be towards the end of the year, while growth during the first two quarters of the year will be relatively weak. He pointed out that much hope has been pinned on the resumption of production by the Latvian metallurgical company Liepajas metalurgs.

The Latvian economy is currently like a compressed spring, which is waiting for external factors to release this spring and allow spending and growth make a quick acceleration, Belevics said.

Belevics pointed out that the Baltic economies posted similar growth last year. Latvia's GDP grew by 2.4%, Lithuania's by 2.7%, but Estonia's by 1.8%. Estonia's slower growth is due to the fact that it is the more developed economy in the region with a higher GDP base. ''Also, Estonia is closely connected with Finland, whose economy is currently in recession,'' the Nordea economic expert explained.

Belevics said that Europe is expected to see larger growth this year than in previous years. This is due to several factors – low oil prices, low interest rates, as well as available lending. For European exporters, it is good news that the euro has weakened against the dollar, as European export products will become more competitive in export markets.

He said that the driving force in the global economy at the moment is the United States, where unemployment has reduced to 5.5%.

Meanwhile, the bad news is related to problems in Russia's economy. Russia only registered growth last year due to a much more favorable situation at the beginning of the year. However, at the moment, Russia's economy is going through a recession, and Nordea analysts predict that the country will see a 3.9% reduction in GDP this year.

He said that the good news is the fact that oil prices have recovered slightly, and the Russian ruble has also become a bit more stable. However, Russia is expected to go see high inflation. ''This will take the winds out of the sails for private spending,'' said Belevics, explaining that the purchasing power of Russian residents will see a substantial drop.

Belevics also said that the reduction of Latvian exports to Russia this year will be quite large and may even each double digits. However, he added that many Latvian exporters have also re-directed to other markets, or are in the process of doing so.